Public invited to discuss Hopkins Pool project

DeKALB – Members of the public will have a chance to weigh in on the designs of the new Hopkins Pool this week.

The DeKalb Park District will host two public meetings in which PHN Architects will present schematics of the new facility. Executive Director Cindy Capek said the meetings – at 6:30 p.m. today and 9 a.m. Saturday – will be identical in content.

“This is the opportunity for the public to say, ‘Yeah, we like this’ or ‘No, we don’t like this,’ ” Capek said. “We’re inviting you for dialogue on the whole plan.”

The pool was built in 1974, and is approaching the end of its 40-year lifespan. Capek said they will present a timeline of the entire project, including the failed $15 million bond sale referendum DeKalb voters rejected in 2010.

Park officials hope the new pool is open in 2015. The new pool will exist within the footprint of the current facility.

The park district is looking to borrow $5 million for the project, and repay the loan using existing revenue sources. Park officials have repeatedly said that taxes will not go up as a result of the pool construction.

Capek said the architects will present schematics for a pool with a capacity of 1,100.

The meetings will give the public – including the 750 passholders the park district invited directly – a chance to weigh in on what features they would like to see.

The only variation in the architects’ three plans are the size of the pool and deck. Capek said the plans had 900, 1,000 or 1,100 bather loads – a measurement of how many people can be in a pool at one time.